JapanBall

09/03/2026

On this day 49 years ago, Sadaharu Oh passed Hank Aaron with his 756th career home run, becoming the world record holder in homers at the time.

Oh and Aaron developed a close friendship and mutual respect that transcended their pursuit of baseball’s home run crown. The two famously faced off in a home run derby in Tokyo in 1974 and remained friends for decades afterward.

09/01/2026

🇯🇵 Japanese MLB Player Update - August 2026

With five months of the MLB season complete, here’s where some of Japan’s biggest players stand:

⚾ Shohei Ohtani: Has not pitched since July 3 due to knee soreness and a biceps issue, while also struggling at the plate in August, batting just .241.

🔥 Yoshinobu Yamamoto: Brought his season ERA to a stellar 2.56 (8th best in MLB) with five quality starts and a 1.95 ERA for the month.

💪 Seiya Suzuki: Batted .288 with five homers and a .912 OPS in August while continuing his best MLB campaign yet.

🔒 Yuki Matsui: Quietly remained excellent out of the Padres bullpen, allowing just one run in 11.2 innings.

🚑 Roki Sasaki: Had a very impressive 2.31 ERA over six starts after the All-Star break before landing on the IL with a blister.

📈 Masataka Yoshida: Was batting .326 with an .892 OPS in August before a hamstring strain sent him to the IL.

🔄 Kodai Senga: Started turning a disastrous season around in a new bullpen role, posting a 1.74 ERA and earning his first MLB save.

⬆️ Yusei Kikuchi: Returned from the IL late in the month and finished August with an encouraging 7 inning outing.

🛠️ Tatsuya Imai: Moved to Houston’s bullpen after a difficult start to his rookie season and showed some improvement in limited action.

📉 S***a Imanaga: Followed an excellent July with a tougher August, posting a 4.58 ERA.

💥 Munetaka Murakami: The power remains, but August was a struggle as he hit .150 with 45 strikeouts in 100 at-bats.

🏔️ Tomoyuki Sugano: Endured a rough finish to August as home runs continued to be an issue.

🇨🇦 Kazuma Okamoto: Has battled strikeouts but continues to produce in the power department, leading Toronto with 28 home runs and 78 RBI.

Visit our website to read Carter Cromwell’s full recap article!

#メジャーリーグ

09/01/2026

Carter Cromwell’s MLB Japanese Import Players August Recap!

Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Seiya Suzuki lead the way while Shohei Ohtani slows down from injuries.

With five of the six months of the Major League Baseball season completed, the largest question mark regarding the cadre of Japanese import players surrounds the health of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. The problem - he’s just a one-way guy right now. Ohtani has had ...

08/31/2026

NPB Newsletter: Rough Season Debut for 46-Year-Old Pitcher Masanori Ishikawa.

Plus, Koki Yamaguchi makes Marines history, Livan Moinelo and Chihiro Sumida toss shutouts, the Hanshin Tigers sweep their rivals again, and much more!

46-year-old pitcher Masanori Ishikawa allowed six runs in a third of an inning against the Giants on Thursday night (Photo: Sponichi) This week in Nippon Professional Baseball, Koki Yamaguchi homered in four straight games en route to setting a new Marines record for home runs by a Japanese-born pla...

08/29/2026

Only 2 players in NPB history have caught at least 1,000 games, collected at least 2,000 hits, and hit at least 400 homers.

One of them is Katsuya Nomura.

The other is Shinnosuke Abe.

Our Thomas Love Seagull details Abe’s journey to the 400 Home Run Club.

When it comes to power and home runs, 500 is the magic number in America. 28 different players have reached the milestone in major league history, from Eddie Murray to Harmon Killebrew to Barry Bonds. Eight players in Japan have reached the number, with Sadaharu Oh holding the world record at 868 ro...

08/28/2026

🇰🇷 This is what our Korean baseball tours are all about!

⚾️ An extended recap video by our wonderful guide, SK:

⚾️ A recap of our amazing journey in South Korea 🇰🇷 for our annual ...

08/25/2026

So great to hear from friends of JapanBall!

Dan Charest of the Travel for Sports Podcast (Dan Charest) packed a lot into a quick 9 day trip to Japan — climbing Mt. Fuji, catching his first Chiba Lotte Marines game, and introducing his girlfriend and friend to Japanese baseball for the first time!

And to top it all off, he spotted JapanBall featured in the 2024 Lonely Planet Japan guidebook while staying at a ryokan in Kyoto. 👀

Looks like such a fun trip! Thanks for sharing, Dan!

08/25/2026

The latest episode of the Talking Yakyu Podcast looks at the Rookie of the Year races in NPB, Shoki Oda’s impending decision between Japan and MLB after an impressive Koshien performance, and much more!

YouTube: https://youtu.be/SIcGNKars6o?is=9IOBwzyE3phknjR2

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7u5nb3vNP9JqCmMQgzDKcH?si=WD_PcKDmQKew2L9Xa4IHYA&utm_source=copy-link

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/npb-rookie-of-the-year-races-shoki-oda-to-npb-or/id1869829809?i=1000785628695

Yuri Karasawa (https://x.com/yakyucosmo) and Brandon Tew (https://x...

08/24/2026

NPB Newsletter: Chiben Wakayama Wins 2026 Summer Koshien, Superstars Teruaki Sato and S***a Morish*ta Join 30 HR Club Together, Veteran Takeya Nakamura Hits Big Grand Slam, and more!

Hanshin Tigers stars Teruaki Sato and S***a Morish*ta combined for 9 home runs in 6 games this week (Photo: Asahi Shimbun) We have a winner at the 108th High School Summer Koshien! Chiben Wakayama captured its fourth Summer Koshien championship with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Kendai Takasaki (Gunm...

08/23/2026

Shane’s JapanBall souvenir ticket from our 2022 Honkbalweek Haarlem tour is signed by a unique trio of stars.

Wladimir Balentien 🇨🇼🇳🇱 — NPB single-season home runs king (60 in 2013) — Rick Van den Hurk 🇳🇱 — 5x Japan Series Champion — and Mike Piazza 🇺🇸🇮🇹 — Hall of Fame catcher.

What a cool piece of memorabilia with strong ties to both Japanese and European baseball! ⚾️